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Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

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Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#121
I've improved my sleep quality (as measured by FitBit), by eating smaller dinners earlier, and not snacking at night. Avoiding alcohol entirely most nights. Avoiding drinking water before bed so I don't have to get up to pee

I take Webber Super Sleep (available at Costco). Has Melatonin, 5-HTP (serotonin precursor), and L-Theanine. Seems to help

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, that's really interesting. I might try it, if I can figure out how to keep my mustache and beard intact :)

Also have a mustache and beard. Just ordered https://smile.amazon.com/Sleep-Strips-SomniFix-Breathing-Nig... . We'll see how it goes. Still sounds insane but hey, It's easy enough to try.

Awesome, give a it few days to adjust to. Its common to wake up and find your tore it off on your sleep and its suck on your pillow or forehead :)

Just keep putting it on at night, and before you know it you will wake up in the morning and have completely forget you still have it on.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#123

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the one consolation to those of us in the maddeningly expensive US system. You can usually find someone who will get you scheduled in very short order. Don't let the wait deter you. If you do need the machine, it can really improve your life.

I live in Bali. I had some chest pains for a few months so saw a specialist. He tested with stethoscope and said sounded fine. He gave me the option of taking a CT thorax. Went downstairs to radiology. They could do the CT scan right away. They had a deal going for COVID of blood test + CT thorax for $120 USD (whereas the CT Thorax a lone would have been $170). So I took the test and got the results 2 days later and…

I assume you're not an Indonesian local…? How does the hospital prevent frivolous checkups from hypochondriacs?

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#124

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

This may sound crazy, but for those who can't tolerate a CPAP, an effective alternative is playing the didgeridoo.[1] Anecdotally my wife and kids were complaining about my snoring, and I bought one for $40 off Amazon. Not only has my snoring improved, but my lung capacity has improved. Plus it's just fun to play. [1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1360393/

I just ordered one, for $35 dollars what's the worse that could happen? Looks like fun, and if I don't use it hey, I have a cool didgeridoo that people can ask about at parties.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#125

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, fixing out the lung capacity, musculature of the diaphragm, throat, tongue, etc is really the cure. And loosing excess weight if that is the case. CPAP, while effective and life changing is a band aid that the medical industry can make money on. I don't hear anyone saying that the CPAP should be used in conjunction with restorative exercises. I'm glad you found this solution.

Sacrificed months of productivity to fast off 70 pounds in hope it would fix sleep apnea. It didn't.

Vitamin D deficiency is linked to teeth grinding and is correlated to sleep apnea patients. It might be worth it to take a 5000 IU pill along with sunshine walks close to solar noon to see if it improves your situation.

I use dminder to track my estimated vitamin d levels.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#126
post #106

Here's what I wonder, and this is somewhat tangential to the issue-- the effects of cannabis are thought to be disruptive to some of the various stages of the sleep cycle, but at the same time, it can sure help you to achieve a full night of uninterrupted sleep. So in the context of these inflammation problems, I wonder what exactly it is about fitful sleep that leads to these inflammation responses and whether takin…

Wishful thinking. You shouldn’t start with the substance you want to take and work backward to rationalize it.

There are plenty of milder, better-researched solutions suitable for longer term use without associated cognitive problems of cannabis. An extremely low dose of Trazodone, for example.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#127
post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can buy your way past the queues either per treatment or with private insurance in the UK and still pay far less than in the US. Most of us wait because the prioritisation is by clinical need, and is usually 'good enough' and some because they can't afford it.

Are you paying less, all in? (e.g., taxes)

We are, yes. But the average American would be shocked at the "customer experience" the average patient gets from the NHS. No such thing as a free lunch etc.

And I think if you have private insurance (i.e: double paying), you'll probably be paying more than the average American. I don't know for sure though.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#128

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

When I say the same thing about Prozac, people react with anger. It's strange. A sleep study is definitely one of the best things I ever did. It helped uncover some undiagnosed narcolepsy, and I've been able to manage it since then. Even knowing that it existed was helpful. (For example, lots of stress was caused by getting jobs that expect you to have your butt in the seat from 9am to 5pm. Other jobs exist.) So yes.…

I'm glad Prozac worked for you. It made me impotent in my 20s and I felt like I was being dropped down an elevator shaft for months after discontinuing it.

Re: Fitful nightly sleep linked to chronic inflammation, hardened arteries

#130

If your doctor tells you to do a sleep study, do it. If, as a result, they tell you to get a CPAP, get it. Those things are life-changing. I felt like an old man at 50 years old. My back was so stiff I couldn't put on my socks. When I got out of bed in the morning I felt so fragile, like my joints were all inflamed - especially my Achilles' tendons. I was too tired to do anything beyond 6 pm. Now, 51, I feel totally…

That said, it's not always a magic bullet. I got a cpap after a sleep study found I had 80+ breathing interruptions in the short overnight test window. It easily brought them down to The value is absolutely there in the greatly reduced likelihood of death in my sleep, and the white noise is better than snoring when sleeping around others. But I wouldn't want to get people's hopes up about it providing them the bad sl…

Read forums http://www.cpaptalk.com/CPAP-Sleep-Apnea-Forum.html and http://www.apneaboard.com/forums/Forum-Main-Apnea-Board-Foru... often CPAP requires fine tuning with most doctors can't be arsed to do.

Get OSCAR software it will help you fine tune the CPAP settings. https://www.sleepfiles.com/OSCAR/

Often people are given the cheapest CPAP machines that won't auto-adjust themselves. Guess what, at least for Medicare it's all the same price so the cheaper the machine the more profit for the DME! The forums will guide you to how to get the best from your machine.

I fine tuned my CPAP based on what I learned and it really improved my AHI. You say "<10" but if you mean AHI that's not good enough. Even doctors want <5. Mine is <1.

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